Playing the same rounds of disc golf with your friends over and over again can get boring. If your group of disc golf buddies normal play has started to get stagnant it might be time for a change. Doubles is a great choice but if you want to try something a bit different, I’d suggested giving golf skins game a try. This game really shines if you have a group of disc golfers that have some variance in skill level and when all players in the group are interested in playing for some coin.
If this sounds like something your weekly disc golf group would enjoy, you’d be losing out big time if you didn’t at least give it a shot.
How To Play Skins Game
When playing this disc golf variation, all holes are assigned an amount or a “skin” as it’s called. This is where the game gets its name.
This game can be played with any amount of players. Usually, all holes are worth an amount of money but you can play golf skins game without gambling by using points instead.
Once you’ve assigned money or points to each hole, the fun happens. Holes are won by with the player with the lowest score on that hole.
If there is a tie, a push happens. This just means that the money or points go to the next hole. If ties continue to take place, the skins will continue to get pushed to the next hole and accumulate until the final hole is reached.
If there is still a tie on the last hole, a sudden-death playoff would be held with skins continuing to be pushed if ties happen but no new skins would be added.
The player with the most skins at the end of the round wins.
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Skins Game Beginner Tips
If you are new to playing golf Skins game and would like to play for money I would suggest starting small. For the first round, have each player put in a quarter, a dime or even nickel per hole.
This still makes the round interesting but no one will loss that much money and will probably lead to more people wanting to play again.
Another thing you’ll want to keep in mind when playing skins is you are playing to win each hole more than you are playing to win the round.
The idea of making up lost stokes on future holes isn’t a valid strategy for skins. Also, if a tie will occur on a hole there isn’t really a good reason to have every player finish.
This can make play faster and hopefully the group will play more rounds.
Bored With Skins Game?
Skins is a really fun disc golf game but when played over and over again, it can lose its luster.
If you like skins but want to change things up a bit, try Wolf.
Wolf is the same basic premise as skins but adds more variations and player choices.
How To Play Wolf
Starting off, Wolf is similar to Skins in that each hole has a value and it could be points or cash.
If a hole is tied, the value of the skin is pushed to the next hole but here is where the similarities end, in this case, if there’s a tie on the last hole there is no sudden death.
All skins would be dropped if a tie happens on the last hole played.
Before the game is played, an order of players must be determined. The first player will be the last player on the next hole and the second player will be the first.
You will need to remember this order as the group goes from hole to hole. The first play is designated the wolf. After the wolf throws his drive, he or she has a choice to make.
The wolf can decide to be a lone wolf or to play with another player. If the wolf decides to go it alone and wins again the team they are award double the amount for the skin if they lose the amount is divided amongst the remaining players.
If the wolf decides to select another player to be on their team, they team up against the remaining players. If they win the hole, the skin value is divided among them and if they lose the skin is divided amongst the remaining players.
The selection process works like this, the wolf must wait for the next player in line to throw and once that player has thrown can decide to pick them or move onto the next player.
If they decide to move on the next player they can’t go back and select any players that throw before.
The scoring here is done like best of doubles or triples, it’s the best shots out of the players on your team.
Wolf Beginner Tips
One of the biggest hurdles to this game are remembering the ordering of players and score. I recommend using a scorecard and having all players review it after each hole.
The main strategies for this game come into play when you are the wolf. If your drive is good enough that you believe you can at least tie the other players, I recommend trying the lone wolf.
Winning double the skin is a hard thing to turn down because if you tie the skin will get pushed to the next hole away. If you select a player and win, you winnings get divided.
Interesting Wolf Variations
I don’t claim that the way I described Wolf is the only way to play it nor is the version I presented the best or correct way. With a lot of games, people in different places or even in the same disc golf clubs enjoy the same game with different rules. Here are some other interesting ways to play wolf:
- By selecting the lone wolf, the skins is tripled or quadrupled. On the other end, the pot isn’t multiplied if a player chooses to be the lone wolf, they just keep the entire skin if they win.
- Instead of making the decision right after driving, the wolf can wait until after all players have thrown. This gives the wolf all the information before, he or she has to decide.
Final Thoughts
So the next time you’re out on the disc golf course with your buddies, I’d encourage you to give skins or even wolf a try.
It’s a great way to spice up your normal play and the games have enough variation to ensure that the same person doesn’t win over and over again.
Really, try it out on your next weekly disc golf meetup. You won’t be disappointed.
Flickr Image Creative Commons – MarkScottAustinTX